I sometimes wonder how people like my dad viewed music when he was my age. These days, I can open Spotify and listen to anything from modern Yemeni music to 1920s Mississippi blues. There’s something special lost when nearly all music is available at my fingertips. I started thinking about this topic a few years ago when I was helping my dad organize his old boxes. We stumbled upon his cassettes, and he would tell me the story behind each one. Every time we found a new cassette, we’d check how many monthly listeners each artist had on Spotify. Some artists still had millions of listeners, while others had fallen into obscurity.
Streaming music, the dominant medium for listening to music, has led to the undermining of the artistic thought behind albums, creating an incentive to produce the most hit-type songs. While the ease of access and the ability to curate personal playlists are fantastic features, they have resulted in less emphasis on content. I believe McLuhan’s theory of “the medium is the message” is particularly relevant here. Although it is technically possible to listen to entire albums on Spotify, which I do often, the experience of buying CDs is entirely different. The CD’s design, the pamphlet within the case, and having a physical copy greatly enhance the artistic experience. Moreover, the inconvenience of CDs compels you to listen to the whole album, rather than constantly switching discs when a song doesn’t suit your preference.
This isn’t to say music streaming does not have advantages. I discovered so many artists without having to buy their whole album, but dividing my listening time over hundreds of artist runs the risk of losing the message artists try to convey. This phenomenon is not entirely new, radio did somewhat mimic what streaming is today, but streaming is your personalised and curated radio.
The Streaming Era: Convenience at a Cost
The music industry is struggling. It peaked in terms of revenue in the late 1990s, primarily due to the rise of CD sales. By 2014, the industry had hit an all-time low, with record labels struggling to deal with increased piracy and the rise of file sharing, as the traditional way of distributing music wasn’t enough for consumers. Since 2014, however, the music industry has regained some of its revenue but is nowhere near the highs of the 1990s. This resurgence is thanks to music streaming, which has provided consumers with a new platform and access to countless titles. Unfortunately, despite its growth, the music streaming model is not turning a profit, with Spotify, the largest platform, struggling to consistently make a profit.
Streaming services pay artists by pooling all subscription money from all users, then dividing it based on the total number of streams an artist receives. This seems fair until considered from another perspective. Let’s say that, for an entire month, you’ve only been listening to one artist; it would be fair to assume that your monthly subscription should go solely to the artist you’ve been listening to. However, that is not the case. Your subscription money primarily goes to the biggest artists on Spotify—those with the most streams. This is frustrating for smaller artists because, in the past, listeners would purchase their albums directly, but now the money from their listeners is effectively redirected away from them.
In the end, I’m not placing any blame on the consumer. This is simply how music is being promoted to us, but perhaps we need to take a step back and reassess our listening habits. Maybe it’s still worthwhile to buy the CD of your favorite band or artist.
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